Commission approves small Decatur office‑warehouse after imposing design and traffic limits

A proposal to convert a narrow Decatur Boulevard parcel from neighborhood commercial to an industrial park use won conditional approval Aug. 5 after neighbors and commissioners raised concerns about traffic, horse and pedestrian safety, and the look of roll‑up doors facing residential areas.

The applicant’s representative said the project is intended for small contracting businesses and described changes made during review to move buildings toward the arterial, add landscaping buffers and reduce overall height. Residents urged fewer roll‑up doors, limits on truck circulation and sidewalk and bus‑stop design clarifications. Commissioners agreed to a package of conditions: a maximum building height cap (35 feet), a limit on the number of roll‑up doors (a maximum of five rather than seven shown in plans), daytime‑only hours of operation (as defined in Title 30) for business activities that could create disturbance, and coordination with Public Works to design an El Dorado driveway that prevents eastbound right turns onto residential streets.

Chair read the conditions into the record and the motion to approve the IP zoning and associated waivers carried.